Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Sea Dog]

Cruising with cocktails tonight. Going Tiki with Below Deck Sailing as Parsifal 3 is falling apart.

 

First up, Sea Dog’s Magic Dragon, a creation I came up with after tasting another cocktail with Dragon Fruit. Very tasty!

Sea Dog’s Magic Dragon

Ingredients

1 oz Light Rum Plantation 3 Star

1oz Aged or overproof rum

1 oz elderflower liqueur

1 oz dragon fruit puree

1 oz lemon juice fresh squeezed

.5 oz simple syrup

.5oz coconut water

.5oz Falernum

Dash of Orange bitters 
 

 

Next up a Rum Barrel created by Don the Beachcomber, one of the original Tiki cocktail pioneers. Lots of ingredients in this one and pretty potent.

 

 

[Coralc]

17 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We had the type of relationship where we could pick up the phone or see each other as if no time had lapsed between our meetings.   

 

Thought about whether to post. I lost my best friend Natalie from the same horrible disease. Friends since 6th grade. They called us "Patalie" . She had not too long ago moved to the UK with her new husband. Henley on the Thames. And we kept in touch by email. 

 

I sent her my usual birthday card and her (pompous jerk) of a husband sent me back the card and a computer letter, saying she had passed away. He said that he had posted it on FB, "But I must have missed it". I was both angry and very, very sad. I'm not on FB. 

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Thought about whether to post. I lost my best friend Natalie from the same horrible disease. Friends since 6th grade. They called us "Patalie" . She had not too long ago moved to the UK with her new husband. Henley on the Thames. And we kept in touch by email. 

 

I sent her my usual birthday card and her (pompous jerk) of a husband sent me back the card and a computer letter, saying she had passed away. He said that he had posted it on FB, "But I must have missed it". I was both angry and very, very sad. I'm not on FB. 

I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend.

[brillohead]

10 minutes ago, Coralc said:

I sent her my usual birthday card and her (pompous jerk) of a husband sent me back the card and a computer letter, saying she had passed away. He said that he had posted it on FB, "But I must have missed it". I was both angry and very, very sad. I'm not on FB. 

 

What a jerk!!!!  May he have the life he deserves!

I'm so sorry for your loss, and also for the way you found out.  

[brillohead]

30 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Just Wait! There will be more. No one hunts them downtown and all of those residential gardens have good things to eat. The local population has exploded in the last 30 years. ☺️

 

Our downtown doesn't have gardens... there's barely even any grass anywhere around where this bird was strutting, so I'm not sure how the heck he got there!

[Coralc]

Thanks Greg. I just miss her, and it still kind of hurts. He went on about her staying in some hospice, that was originally the home of Alan Turing or some sort of person that Benedict Cumberbatch played in a movie. Annoying.  It's okay. I don't need a bunch of sympathy. She was my best friend. I was just annoyed about not knowing. 

 

And I guess I am a little down and a little sad because I will be turning 65 in June. You folks are all great! I don't need more. But it is just nice to write it down and get it off your chest sometimes. Thanks. I don't need a bunch of replies.  

Edited May 27, 2023 by Coralc

[taznremmy]

@Coralc You may not need one, but I need to send one Patti.  Sending you a huge hug.

[Bailey & Sophie]

18 hours ago, dpostman said:

Since we are posting turkey pics... here is one I took last summer at a cottage we rented.

 

dp

 

This one is awesome!

[Bailey & Sophie]

2 hours ago, Coralc said:

 

I sent her my usual birthday card and her (pompous jerk) of a husband sent me back the card and a computer letter, saying she had passed away. He said that he had posted it on FB, "But I must have missed it". I was both angry and very, very sad. I'm not on FB. 

 

Such a cruel way to learn of her passing. I'm sorry for your loss. May memories fill your heart.  Hugs to you.

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, Coralc said:

I don't need a bunch of replies.  

 

Patti, so just ((((((( )))))) from afar 😘

[ReneeFLL]

On 5/12/2023 at 12:47 PM, voyager70 said:

…I’ve always been partial to SW Florida (Fort Myers area specifically)  as it was a second home to me growing up but I’m also considering the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area now because I want to make sure I have access to good health care as I get older….

I hear SW Florida isn’t bad, but I think differently about Miami and Fort Lauderdale. You might want to rent or Air B&B for about 6 months here and then see what you really think. Being so close to the ports is great and we really like Cleveland Clinic, but I sometimes think I’m in another country south of Florida. The drivers down here are just awful. We can’t wait to get out of here, but unfortunately that won’t be for about another 5 years. We are also over ever having a winter. It consists of several days here and there with decent cool temps. It’s also very crowded and they just keep building. We feel this way, but there are many others that think differently. Come check it out before permanently moving down here.

Edited May 27, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[Arzeena]

7 hours ago, Coralc said:

Thought about whether to post. I lost my best friend Natalie from the same horrible disease. Friends since 6th grade. They called us "Patalie" . She had not too long ago moved to the UK with her new husband. Henley on the Thames. And we kept in touch by email. 

 

I sent her my usual birthday card and her (pompous jerk) of a husband sent me back the card and a computer letter, saying she had passed away. He said that he had posted it on FB, "But I must have missed it". I was both angry and very, very sad. I'm not on FB. 

Sorry about that Patti.

Apoloigies..... I replied and I saw your post about not needing replies later.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Arzeena

[bobmacliberty]

7 hours ago, Coralc said:

Thanks Greg. I just miss her, and it still kind of hurts. He went on about her staying in some hospice, that was originally the home of Alan Turing or some sort of person that Benedict Cumberbatch played in a movie. Annoying.  It's okay. I don't need a bunch of sympathy. She was my best friend. I was just annoyed about not knowing. 

 

And I guess I am a little down and a little sad because I will be turning 65 in June. You folks are all great! I don't need more. But it is just nice to write it down and get it off your chest sometimes. Thanks. I don't need a bunch of replies.  

 

Although you don't need a bunch of replies, I want to add my condolences also.  Terrible news and a terrible way to learn of Natalie's passing.  And I want to also rant about people who only share information via FB.  Especially important information like the passing of your friend.  I'm not one who believes that everything should still be handwritten notes or personal phone calls.  We've moved beyond that and I'm fine with email or even text messages.  But her husband should have made an attempt to send messages to important people in Natalie's life, like you. 

 

Many people don't use FB for a variety of reasons.  I still avoid it like the plague since it's still very cyber unsafe.  Earlier this week I received an email message supposedly from my sister-in-law encouraging me to click on a link that contained pictures of two ladies that I might remember.  I nearly clicked on the link while on my phone (which only shows the "friendly" name of the email sender), thinking it might be a picture of my mother.  I checked the actual email address and it was from jmiguel0518 in Mexico.  I worked in the cyber field and still almost fell for it.  I think her FB account was hacked.  Those of you who use FB, be VERY careful online.  And absolutely do not use the same username/password for FB as you do for other accounts...DEFINITELY not other acounts that are important like financial institutions.  FB accounts get hacked way too often.  

 

I don't mean to highjack your message Patti.  It just really bothers me that you had to learn of Natalie's passing the way you did, which triggered my FB ranting.  Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.  

[Arzeena]

Bob, I understand what you posted about FB etc. I do not use it either. I also wanted to mention to be careful of emails from "relatives, teen children and friends" asking to send them urgent money because they have been arrested or something.

[BonTexasNY]

8 hours ago, taznremmy said:

@Coralc You may not need one, but I need to send one Patti.  Sending you a huge hug.

Hugs from Texas.

14 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Bob, I understand what you posted about FB etc. I do not use it either. I also wanted to mention to be careful of emails from "relatives, teen children and friends" asking to send them urgent money because they have been arrested or something.

Good advice. 

 

I've posted this before.  A few years ago, my sister received a phone call from "her son" who supposedly was arrested and needed money.  He was crying too hard to know if the voice was his or not.   She asked "her son" what his sister's name is.  He hung up.

 

I received an email from a neighbor who stated he was in Europe and had all his money stolen and needed money to get home.  I had just paid a condolence call on him the day before while he was mourning the loss of his wife.  I hated to contact him at that time to notify him his email was hacked. Unfortunately, these crooks prey on many folks who are gullible and believe everything they read.  Good to always be cautious.

Edited May 27, 2023 by BonTexasNY

[ReneeFLL]

Went to an orchid show recently.

 

Laelia purpurata

 

Cattleya  Martin Wolfe

 

 

 

Dendrobium Jairak Antelope 'Dark Red' HCC/AOS  I love the curly antelope flowers.

 

Dendrobium amabile

 

Brassia Rex 'Waiomao Spotless'

 

Spikes get really tall.

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[voyager70]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I hear SW Florida isn’t bad, but I think differently about Miami and Fort Lauderdale. You might want to rent or Air B&B for about 6 months here and then see what you really think. Being so close to the ports is great and we really like Cleveland Clinic, but I sometimes think I’m in another country south of Florida. The drivers down here are just awful. We can’t wait to get out of here, but unfortunately that won’t be for about another 5 years. We are also over ever having a winter. It consists of several days here and there with decent cool temps. It’s also very crowded and they just keep building. We feel this way, but there are many others that think differently. Come check it out before permanently moving down here.

Thanks for your thoughts. It’s always helpful to get first hand perspective from someone who’s lived in the area for an extended time. I’m definitely leaning towards SW FL as I’m much more familiar with the area, and after doing some research the health care system seems to be vastly improved from years ago. Still have time to work out all the details. I’ve always been a little (or a lot) OCD about planning anything, and this is a big one for sure!

[bobmacliberty]

5 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

Thanks for your thoughts. It’s always helpful to get first hand perspective from someone who’s lived in the area for an extended time. I’m definitely leaning towards SW FL as I’m much more familiar with the area, and after doing some research the health care system seems to be vastly improved from years ago. Still have time to work out all the details. I’ve always been a little (or a lot) OCD about planning anything, and this is a big one for sure!

 

I fully understand being OCD about planning.  There are a lot of Florida people here from all around the state.  I think I can speak for most when I say that we're happy to help answer any questions that you might have.  I second the idea of trying a place first, ideally with an extended visit, but even just for a week or two at a time.  We made 4 different trips, at different times of the year, before buying.  That gave us a feel for crowds and weather, among other things.

[grapau27]

Good afternoon from the beach.

We called at the cemetery to put flowers and tidy up Pauline's gran and grandad's grave and her baby brothers grave.

We ended up at our local beach where we had a lovely snack.

I hope everyone is well.

[George C]

19 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

TSOTD is NY Yankee #21  Paul O'Neil. My favorite player from the 1990s. 

 

Also wearing a NY Yankee jersey with #21 on the back. No name as the Yankees do not put names of players on the back of jerseys. You should know who they are just by the number (confession: I don't always know)

 

Also going to the game tonight. If @George C flight gets in early, see if you can score some last minute tickets & I'll treat you to a $18 beer. I'll be easy to find, I'll be wearing the Yankee #21 jersey. 😁

I always liked Paul O’Neil but disliked he wouldn’t get vaccinated and couldn’t be in booth for a while. My favorite was always Mickey Mantle, I have a signed ball and plaque of his , also a dozen or more yearbooks and hundreds of baseball cards.

 

so far trip has went through no traffic to airport easy priority checkin , LGA airport looks great completely redone since last visit . Traffic to airport wasn’t bad considering, hotel had some issues we had booked a 800 sq Ft suite with 2 full bathrooms, they put us in a 600 sq Ft suite with a bath and a half and tried to tell me it was the same room , since we stayed at both in the past that didn’t work , they will move us tomorrow. Had a great Italian meal at our favorite restaurant in this area Becco , highly recommended this, they have lots of wine choices for just 35 a bottle which is an amazing price for New York City. Play “beautiful noise” was excellent, loads of bars with live music I asked one bartender when do they stop playing, was told 3:30 😁😁😁

[molly361]

Personally I think that SW Florida and also SE Florida areas are way too busy and too much traffic.  That said it's also getting that way here in New Smyrna Beach.  The traffic here is noticeably worse than it was 12 years ago when we moved up from the Keys

[ReneeFLL]

Just got back fr9m some errands in the middle of posting. It's been non-stop this past month or so.

 

Brassavola nodosa 'Largo' also called Lady Of The Night because it smells so good at night.

 

Bulbophyllum Manchind

 

Bulbophyllum Frank Smith 

 

Catasetum pileatum

 

 

Orchids for sale. The previous orchids were in the judging tent.

 

Beallara Marfitch 'Howard's Dream'

 

 

 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

3 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Catasetum pileatum

 

Thanks, Renee. So far, my fav 🌺

[ReneeFLL]

Paphiopedilum Amusingly Wood

 

Paphiopedilum Hirohisa's Ruby

 

Paph. (short for paphiopedilum)  bellatulum

 

Paph. Krull's Lady   Orchid on the left. I should've cropped the photo.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[dani negreanu]

19 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Good morning.  Thought I’d let you you know that I am doing a review of my cruise.  

 

For those who would like to read "aussie's" review 😉

 

Yesterday evening, my BFF invited us to some cheese and vine ....